My son built a FF Cobra a few years ago. The thing was the fastest car I ever drove. Weight to power is fantastic. He found a 5.0 Mustang with low mileage for 1500.00 and used the parts in the build. If you do it right you will have some money in it no matter what. He added a supercharger and really woke up that motor. I see nothing wrong with using what they recommend to use. I don't think anyone would just throw a **** engine in a new build. Get on the FF forum and read what people who built them think. Super car as my opinion but that and a 1.00 won't get a coffe anymore. HAHA

I'm going to the open house sat feb 16th.. is there anything you'd like me to ask/find out while I'm there and talking to the owners of FFR..
you can email me, or p.m. me if you do..
will have camera charged and ready..

The 33 kit is very complete, I decided to upgrade a few things such as brakes and a Coyote/TKO600 and use all new components. The total is now at $70\k without paint. Car is spooky fast and handles like a go kart, worth every penny.

The kit costs $20,000 and includes everything you need EXCEPT: engine, trans, rear end, wheels, tires, paint. If you choose to upgrade like lots of stainless, custom-made components, a premium-cost engine (like a Coyote), and a high-end paint job, you can add tens of thousands.

That TV program where they bring in two teams from rod shops to build a pair of either complete stock runners or kit cars etc in 48 hours just did a pair of factory five 33's a few weeks ago. Of course I'm not sayin its the same as us individual folks projects but I did find it interesting, they went together very well and both cars drove and handled great in the showdown testing. I think they allow 6 members on each team. The 48 hours includes everything from unboxing parts to ready for the road test, except the show provides a complete motor and trans for each team.

Factory Five also partners with a technical high school (in Michigan I think) where you team with other classmates and build either a '33 or a Cobra kit. Class is 2 or 3 days and costs around $500. I think it would be a lot of fun, but it would encourage me to buy one (that I can't afford right now)!

That's the way we used to do it. An olds or Caddy wrecking yard engine into a T bucket, A 331 chrysler into a model A. get it running with a mule engine ,everything wired up plumbed Then when you have some more money build an engine and sell to old one. I've got 3 engines ready, a few $ in them and up The projects stalled.

Hey guys. I have a FORD engine I got stuck with because a customer cancelled. I am working on selling it, but in the event it doesnt sell, I was wondering if you guys had any experience with a Factory Five build.

I'm looking at the Corbra or the Five Window Coupe. Any quality issues? As far as I can tell, the reviews have been good. I have never done this, and I don't have the space, or money, to do a full restoration. These seem like an easy way out for a quality build.

Any thoughts? Anything out there that's a better deal? I'm new to this knid of build and would appreciate any input I can get.

Thanks

I'm going to jump in here and maybe help you out! I didn't build a FFR kit but I did build a Classic Roadsters Cobra kit from scratch.
What one of the guy's said about cost Ya! you could spend 40 grand and you could spend 120 grand, but it depends what you want to do and how long you want to take.
It took me 3 years to build my Cobra and well worth every minute!!! I searched for parts over the winter and assembled them in the spring...Well! When my garage was warm enough to work in. You can find great deals if you search for them.
About using a use or old motor or suspension!! Why not!! You can change it out later if you want. I finished mine in 2003 and it's still going strong!
Everything for my Cobra is Classic Roadster's Cobra kit from LA,North Dakota, Washington, South Carolina and Canada a true North American sports car.
Oh Ya! My flasher covers are from New Zealand Original Lucus lens's.

Now about the price!! I never totaled up the cost but I know I'm below 20 grand!!! It was evaluated at over 50 grand....so 30 grand maybe profit!
I started with just the frame...that was it. Built it up to a rolling chase and from there to a complete Cobra. I have pictures of the complete build as everyone should do.
I like what one of the guy's said in here. Look for a pre-started kit but make sure that you have the plains that go with it. Thank God for the manual and Don Scott and Ed Combs for any help that I needed.
Do your home work!!! If you find a Cobra kit there are some good site to consider like Welcome to Club Cobra...The world's largest non-biased Cobra site! - Club Cobra if there is a Cobra kit they are all here and these guy's are the pro's to them.
Sorry for the long reply but I hope this will help you out.
Later and be safe.
Cobra427sc.
P.S my next build is a Chevy 1956 Step Side Shot Box this should be fun. Oh and by the way my garage is 15 X 20. Not much room but I built the Cobra in it with room to move. Yes! The body stayed out side until it was needed, just cover it up....it's fiber glass!

Been helping a buddy build a FF Cobra for the past 3 yrs. I'm not sure what he has invested in it and since he's gotten married since the project started I doubt you'd get him to post an answer in a public forum, but I do know it's on the high side of $25k and counting, and the body work is still yet to do. My guess is he's going to be in the mid-30's after paint.

There's a lot more to it than the price of the kit. The doner car (for things like engine, trans, diff, heater, gas tank, brake Mcylinder), misc items like gauges, steering linkages, coolant tanks, belts, hoses, thousands of rivets, cleco's, drill bits, tubing flaring kit (some of the mating fittings have no off-the-shelf adapters), driveshaft (takes a pretty short one -and don't forget the safety loop), electrical wiring components, seat tracks, shoulder belts, fuel lines, battery....and you probably better budget for some sheet aluminum to remake a few of the parts that don't seem to fit just right from the "factory". I have heard they are doing a better job with the kits now than they did then so it might go a little smoother.

Then there's the basic stuff like a welder, drill press, good tap & die set, a super low jack...A good background in metal fab work and auto building/restoration would be helpful as well.

And on the subject of junk yard engines - you can go that route, save a few bucks up front. But what happens when that engine starts smoking, losing water, making funny noises or the tranny starts acting up...a few months or a few miles down the road. He went kinda wild and stuffed a (salvaged) blown 4.6 into his and we've already had to pull it back out twice and there's no way under the sun you get that motor out with the body still on. Not sure if you put in a 302, you may be able to squeeze that one in and out. But the last thing you want to do once the project is "done" is to have to pull it back apart to rebuild an engine or tranny. And have to explain that to your wife, if you have one.

Nothing wrong with getting a doner from the boneyard, but do yourself a big favor and rebuild or have someone who knows what they are doing rebuild the engine, tranny & diff before you bolt them into the car. It could be your cheapest way out and save a lot of headaches down the road.

Hard to consider the cost of tools in the cost of the kit car. Kind of like adding $3000 to the tune-up of the family sedan because you bought a lift. There is also a difference between the Cobra and the '33 kits. The '33 kits include the wiring harness, gauges, master cylinder, brakes, pedals, door handles, upholstery, lights, steering column, and more. As with anything, you can make any rod project cost a fortune with options and upgrades.

Agreed. The cost of the durable tools were not included in my mid-30's estimate. I met the guy at the autofair in Charlotte at the FF booth. We started talking about the cars and I wound up volunteering to help with it. At that point he had the engine sitting in the chassis, but not permanently mounted and a half dozen pieces of sheet metal installed. He ran down a list of what he had in it when I started helping out. At that point he said he had over $20k in it. Then he bought a bunch more stuff: clutch & brake systems, gages, more sheet metal, tanks, reservoirs, driveshaft, heim joints, steering components...a long list. The wheels & tires showed up a few months later (I think they were an upgrade on the kit that were back ordered but included in the previous figure). If you included all the tools he bought he'd be well over 30 now I'm sure.

The body hasn't been touched yet. I'm a 'vette man (owned 4 C3's in the past 35 yrs) and have had my share of fiberglass adventures, but this body is going to take a good bit of work to make it slick. I've seen better seam treatments on the back side of a fiberglass shower stall. If he were taking it to one of the local 'vette-friendly paint shops, I know he'd have 10g in the body & paint. He thinks he's worked out a deal where he can get it painted for around 5, but that's still going to put him into the 30's. I'm trying to not be critical, just reporting what I've seen. We'll see.

But my take is, if you're going to put the time and effort into building an unique car like these, you need to go into it with the expectation of spending a lot more money on it than you might think. Whether you count the tools in as part of the cost of the car or not, you've still got to spend that money to get the project done or pay someone else who has the tools to fill in the gaps.

I suppose you could approach it like the TV restoration shows - buy a body kit, throw it on an 80k mile drive train, get used parts from the boneyard to fill in the gaps, get a Mako paint job and wind up with a $20k ride that looks good from 10' at 10 mph. Ride it until it starts to nickel & dime you to death then sell it for half what you spent on it.

Don't get me wrong. Building a kit is a lot of fun, and the FF's are getting better every year. Just don't go into the project with unrealistic expectations. If 20k is all you have to put into something, put ii into a late model used Mustang or Camero and start having fun. And find somebody who's building one and offer to help...

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